Another goal?

Yesterday we went to a wonderful barbecue to celebrate the marriage of our friends Rob and Amy. Rob and Amy run marathons. Rob has achieved 10 states toward his goal of running a marathon in every state. They met through a local running club. Not surprisingly, there were many runners there, mostly distance runners. We drank PBR, talked about goals, and everyone made a mad dash for the burgers when they were ready (and everyone agreed that we run/bike/whatever so we can eat).

It's funny how your perspective changes when you start making goals, and when you hang out with people whose idea of fun is endurance events. Rob invited Dusty to join him in October for his New Hampshire marathon. I said I might come cheer them on. Without missing a beat, Rob suggested I join them, and run the half-marathon. Some combination of the beer, the conversations I'd been having all day, and how I've been feeling about my running lately made me surprise myself by saying yes!

Actually, at first I laughed and pointed out that my new goal for my standard running distance is 4.5 miles. Rob shrugged and said that if I can run 4.5 miles, I can do a half-marathon. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to distance running, and he's not someone to talk a friend into an impossible goal. The more I think about it, the more it seems like a good post-triathlon goal. If I have to walk some of it, that's okay. It turns out that the date of the New Hampshire marathon is not good for me, but I'm on the search for another fall half-marathon. It looks like I've got my next goal all set.